No dream too big!!!

Aiming high has been Prasanna Patwardhan’s abiding principle in life; be it scoring 3-pointers on the basketball court or setting his business goals. Starting off as a trainee in 1985 with Prasanna Travels, owned by his father Mr. Keshav Waman Patwardhan, Prasanna soon earned his spurs and under the tutelage of his father started a luxury coach service in 1988. Now, he is at the helm of the Prasanna Group of Companies as the Managing Director, steering it with passion, foresight and a tremendous amount of drive.

Prasanna Travels Pvt. Ltd. has a fleet of 100 luxury coaches plying over 35+ routes. The Company operates from six Regional Offices, five branch offices, through 25 franchisees and 600 agents. 

Looking back – The history of Prasanna :

In 1996, Mr. Prasanna Patwardhan gave wheels to METROLINK, with Warun Travels, a major fleet owner, that offered luxury bus service exclusively between Mumbai and Pune. Next, he launched an Overseas travel division – Prasanna Overseas Travels Pvt. Ltd. – to facilitate domestic and international ticketing, hotel booking across the globe, passport, VISA and provide air taxi charter service. The Company was awarded the IATA status in 1996. With some international tie-ups, Prasanna is equipped to handle tourists and NRIs visiting India.

Having established his presence on road and in the air, he turned his attention to the other mode of travel – rail and soon he was authorized by the India Railways to be a railway travelers’ service agent for railway tickets reservation across all classes.

Prasanna Termitels Ltd, an attractive motel a traveler seeks: restaurants, cafeterias, waiting lounges, inter-state bus connections, shopping complexes, transit camp accommodations, petrol pumps, service stations, STD and ISD connectivity, self-contained parking lots for cars and bus terminals. Some even offer conference facilities. ‘Smilestone’ is one such motel on the Pune-Aurangabad stretch that has been a runaway hit with both holidaying and business travelers. 

Prasanna Group forays into city bus operations :

On 15^thAugust Prasanna Group started its city bus operations in Jalgaon. Twenty Ashok Leyland Stag buses and six SLF (Semi-Low Floor) buses branded ‘Ecobus’, run in Jalgaon covering 15 routes with a frequency of 10 minutes. Passenger response to the ‘Ecobus’ has been overwhelming thanks to some very innovative facilities on offer like special seats for ladies and senior citizens, concessions for school going children, LED displays at bus stops and on the buses delivering information on the ETA and routes covered, e-tickets, RFID Smart Card monthly passes and SMS alerts to parents about their children’s travel. A GPRS system keeps Prasanna informed of the actual position of his fleet on road from his headquarters in Pune. 

His achievements :

A keen basketballer, Prasanna has donned the national colors, is a regular feature at almost all basketball tourneys in Pune and is the official coach of the Maharashtra team that he once captained. He has been richly felicitated for his outstanding achievements being the recipient of the V.S. Vaidya Award, the Excellence in Service in Service Industries Award and the Excellence in Transport Industries Award.

His achievements are many but Prasanna Patwardhan is ready to seek new horizons and scale greater peaks. And Ashok Leyland is playing a vital role in helping him realize his dreams!